Which bushes to replace after 105k/14 years?

[craigowl 0]

As title.

Would like to get things taut as when new.

Sorry if it has been asked before.

Anything else advised?

Not doing it myself, though! So must keep it reasonable price, too.

[vwdeviant 0]

All of them TBH..

 

Get new wishbones for front and ARB mounts too... both come with bushes...

 

Then there's the rear beam... and that's expensive!

 

Although you can cheat with Polybushes as they can be hammered in rather than pressed.. which involves dropping the whole beam..

[AlexDG 0]

As mentioned already - all of them.

 

I have just had the same job done on mine (93 VR6 on 106k miles), I stayed with standard shocks & springs and rubber bushes because it is an everyday car and I need practicality/comfort over looks. But the combination of new shocks, new bushes and new top mounts has transformed the handling* (not too surprisingly) and the car feels 'tight' again, well worth the expense for me.

 

*The standard setup is in my opinion pretty impressive, from an aesthetic perspective the ride height is daft high, but the handling is excellent for an out of the box setup.

 

In some scenarios, where budget is limited, I suspect more gains are to be had by refreshing the whole suspension system than only replacing springs and shocks with an 'uprated' aftermarket system...

[davidwort 0]

yeah, doing one thing will make it feel better but probably just increase wear on the older items, but the things that make the most difference seem to be rear wishbone bushes and rear beam bushes.

I had worn inner track rod joints which improved the steering no end when replaced, but you can check for play in those and bottom ball joints, top mounts etc and only do them if they show signs of play.

[Abdul 0]

How much does it typically cost to get the rear axel bushes done?

[craigowl 0]

Thanks for prompt contributions, guys.

[Toad 0]

Personally, New wishbones, rear axle bushes, ARB bushes and drop links, bottom ball joints, steering rack bushes, track rods (with track rod ends). And that's about it....

 

Don't use Polybushes, they're a pain in the arse. The VAG stuff has lasted you 105k/14 years, so it should do the same again...

[craigowl 0]

Thanks, Toad.

Yes, from what I have read, volks like me should steer clear of polybushes. A bit softer and more lubberly rubber is what I need. :camp:

[Supercharged 2]

As mentioned already - all of them.

 

I have just had the same job done on mine (93 VR6 on 106k miles), I stayed with standard shocks & springs and rubber bushes because it is an everyday car and I need practicality/comfort over looks. But the combination of new shocks, new bushes and new top mounts has transformed the handling* (not too surprisingly) and the car feels 'tight' again, well worth the expense for me.

 

*The standard setup is in my opinion pretty impressive, from an aesthetic perspective the ride height is daft high, but the handling is excellent for an out of the box setup.

 

In some scenarios, where budget is limited, I suspect more gains are to be had by refreshing the whole suspension system than only replacing springs and shocks with an 'uprated' aftermarket system...

 

Really good reply that and I agree the standard setup is superb and gives the best balance between handling and ride quality.... I am running H&R blue springs on standard gas VR shocks to get the right height down and that seems to be a very good compromise.

 

To be honest I don't think the build quality of the Corrado interior is good enough for coilovers and poly bushes - my G60 was practically silent and rattle free until fitting a set of KW variant ones... :(

 

Anyway Mr Owl - depends on labour costs etc but I would consider doing the lot along with track rod ends and ball joints, replace every wearable component in one hit and you know it's all good for another 10 years or so.

 

Rear beam bushes aren't as labour intensive as people think with the right tools - I saw a pair swapped by a VW master tech using the proper tool in less than 45 mins - easy when you have the right kit!

[craigowl 0]

Had these quotes in reply from local garage.

 

To supply and fit wishbones £290.81 inc VAT

To supply and fit rear axle bushes £264.98 inc VAT

To supply and fit drop links £114.72 inc VAT

To supply and fit anti-roll bar bushes £146.94 inc VAT

 

As regards Track rod ends there are two choices depending on the steering system

TRW £289.20 inc VAT supply and fit and

ZF would be £231.19 inc VAT supply and fit.

 

When you say steering rack bushes do you mean the main bush that goes around the steering rack?

 

Any comments welcome, guys. Particularly with respect to best ones to go for first. Of course, it strikes me that I will never get that money back on the car, perhaps I should just buy a cheap 1.8 with the money this will cost? :ignore:

[vwdeviant 0]

Jeepers Craig!

 

Drop links take 5 seconds and only cost £70 from VAG... same time for ARB bushes... and will be done with the Wishbones!

 

You can get a much better rate surely?

 

Even for a mechanical 'Tard like me it only took 2hrs (with a 4-poster lift) if you excluded faffing about getting new Drop links after I didn't and snapped them taking the wishbones out!

[Toad 0]

Drop links take 5 seconds and only cost £70 from VAG... same time for ARB bushes... and will be done with the Wishbones!

 

Arb bushes need the subframe dropping down... Not a 5 second job....

 

Otherwise that does sound pretty steep. You can do it all yourself, but there are items that can trip you up. Ball joints can be seized (best use 2 hammers either side of the knuckle, and the wishbone bolts can be bloody tight... I've had a nice bend accross a breaker bar before they've moved in the past.

 

The different racks are easily spotted visually, but I can't remember the semantics. I may have got a track rod and ball joint for sale at the moment. Brand spanking new, looking for £40 plus postage I think.

[Jim Bowen 1]

very high prices :!:! Most of the parts aren't too hard to fit.

 

i've done all my suspension 3 times, rear axle bushes, top mounts, wishbones with a friends help. I'd never worked on a car before the corrado :lol: but couldn't afford the bills so had to learn

[Jim 2]

Holy sheite - those are some rather exorbitant prices mate. Looking at around £1000 for a rebush of the car - that's a lot by anybodys standards. Might be worth thinking about a little road trip down south a little bit and going to see some of the specialists in this area such as Stealth or DG? I'm sure they'd come in a lot less for those jobs...

[craigowl 0]

Thanks, guys.

I will not be doing it myself - beyond me now.

 

Have another couple of quotes to come, so your reactions are well worthwhile so far. :salute:

 

I think this (independant) garage charges about £40/hour labour and 2 or 3 techs are VAG trained.

 

Have had a few things done to various cars in family and results OK.

Perhaps people who have paid for labour recently may be able to comment. As I say, I have to pay someone to do this now.

[davidwort 0]

Drop links take 5 seconds and only cost £70 from VAG... same time for ARB bushes... and will be done with the Wishbones!

 

Arb bushes need the subframe dropping down... Not a 5 second job....

 

EH!

are arb bushes dramatically different on a VR then, cause it took me 10 minutes to do mine up on a garage ramp.

 

and those prices for fitting are shocking, are we talking VW dealer 90 quid and hour here or what?

[Supercharged 2]

Yeah I think they just made those prices up... that's the sort of quote you'd give someone if you clearly didn't want to do the job!

 

By doing all those things at once you should save quite a bit overall - I'd have a word with a few other places...

 

Really the best was to do it is just drop the subframe with the engine supported from above and do the whole front in one go, I would buy the parts yourself from VAG so you know it's the good stuff and then take a box of bits round to get quotes

[vwdeviant 0]

Drop links take 5 seconds and only cost £70 from VAG... same time for ARB bushes... and will be done with the Wishbones!

 

Arb bushes need the subframe dropping down... Not a 5 second job....

 

EH!

are arb bushes dramatically different on a VR then, cause it took me 10 minutes to do mine up on a garage ramp.

 

and those prices for fitting are shocking, are we talking VW dealer 90 quid and hour here or what?

 

Thank god thought I'd gone mad! :lol: